Ethan Burke wakes up in the woods just as a figure escapes from view. He ventures out and the figure is not gone. Its racing past him repeatedly and even slices his arm as if to say, ‘still here’. Ethan fires his shotgun blindly over and over. One shot sounds like it might have hit something. Or someone.

Ben has begun to take a real interest in Amy. The bigger issue here is that perhaps he’s begun to accept the situation. Last week, the Mayor admitted that the town focuses on shaping the minds of the children. Ben is doing what he must to fit in, or so he says. It also doesn’t hurt that Ben is received like one of the popular kids.

Theresa following her son’s example decides follow-up on the real estate job she was handed. Her boss or at least immediate supervisor is loud a brash. Theresa’s first assignment is to ‘give’ the newest addition to Wayward Pines (i.e. ‘accident’ victim) a new house.

Ben and a couple of others have been summoned to ‘orientation’. Three kids in numbered seats in a white room. Mrs. Fisher enters without a word and sets up a projector. Fisher shows them students. All of them that came before them. This orientation is very ominous. Using phrases like “only accept”, “if you make it through” and “first generation of”. Only those kids ready for the truth will proceed.

Ethan continues to map the terrain, I assume to map out an effective escape route.

Theresa makes her way to the hospital to greet the accident victim she is supposed to give a house to. Mr. Johnson (the victim) is resistant to her help. She then tries to sympathize with him and his attitude changes. They connect as both being accident victims. Only Mr. Johnson saw something. He implicates Pam but before he can go too far, Theresa gets closer and warns him that this place is not safe. Great approach, if Nurse Pam wasn’t eavesdropping around the corner.

Fisher shows them more slides. This time of the same section of land over time. 14 years ago, a few years after that, and 3 months ago. She asks the kids what they see. Ben points out a figure in the left third. This the first official introduction of what they call ‘abbies’. These figures are the result of genetic mutations or aberrations. The photo is blurry, but it vaguely resembles the Marvel character Abomination if it was normal human sized. They resemble humans because they once were.

While Ethan tracks his route, hoping to avoid what his son is currently more informed on, Fisher continues with the lesson. She hands each kid a dirty coin. Ben asks to scrape off the sediment. What he finds is even more unexplainable. It’s a United States quarter whose date would indicate it came from about 80 years in the future. The Abbies are devolved humans. And the long and short of it is, they don’t have quarters from 80 years in the future, they have quarters that are over 2,000 years old. It’s not 2014, it’s the year 4028. Wayward Pines, it seems, may be an attempt to repopulate the human race into a world whose civilization died centuries ago.

Fisher explains how this is possible. Ethan finds the edge of Wayward Pines to discover what I assume used to be Boise, laid in ruins. Theresa talks to Mr. Johnson in the new home with dryer running. He remembers waking up and looking out of a window not unlike that of the dryer. Cryo-sleep. And why? These people were all chosen to survive the human race.

A doctor foresaw the devolution and decided to collect a sample of people to hopefully stave off the mutation that affects all people or things outside the walls of Wayward Pines. His name is David Pelcher. They will never meet him, but he is always watching. Essentially making a doctor a God.
Out on the edge of civilization a black helicopter approaches and lands in front of Ethan. Out of the helicopter steps Dr. Jenkins (Toby Jones). Only he is not Dr. Jenkins. His real name is Dr. David Pelcher.

The kids are on strict instructions not to share this new information with their parents. The idea being that adults have lived too long in the old world and their minds cannot handle this new reality. This way, the children are the guardians of the arc that is Wayward Pines.

Following orientation, Fisher escorts them to a dark room where all of the other kids stand holding candles. Amy welcomes them to the first generation. The kids all begin pound their palms repeatedly creating a fraternity like ritual.

At the helicopter, David gives Ethan the hard sell. Reluctantly, Ethan agrees to get on the chopper just as the Abbies descend upon his previous position. As the helicopter rises avoiding the four Abbies in pursuit, Ethan sees the desolation in the surrounding areas.